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Mon Vieil Ami:
New and Modern on Ile Saint Louis
PARIS – I confess that when I saw that the famed
Alsatian chef Antoine Westermann was opening a bistro
on Ile-Saint-Louis, I had visions of red-checkered tablecloths,
mounds of choucroute, and those old Alsatian favorites
of baeckeoffe and kougelhopf. Not that any of these are
bad, it just wasn’t what I thought Paris needed
today.
Well, the moment I stepped foot inside his bright, airy, starkly
modern new spot, my eyes lit up. The place says right out loud,
Fun, Modern, Youthful. You enter into a high-ceilinged black and
white dining room, with a giant black onyx table d’hôtes
at one side, cozy tables for two along another. Glasses glisten
in clear crystal, plates contrast in pure white, and towering white
lilies flow out of a skyscraper-sized glass vase in the center.
The second you are seated, a chilled glass of Alsatian pinot blanc
is set at your elbow, and you are prepared to be won over.
The menu, at first glance confused me a bit, for such unexpected
and nontraditional combinations as leeks and mackerel, dorade (porgy)
teamed up with shellfish in a casserole, and carrots, raisins and
dates with roasted codfish.
But once the plates began coming, my fears were alleviated, my
palate did handstands. What Westermann has created is a new voice,
a voice that seems to say, Trust me, I know what I’m doing,
and I am not simply going to drag out the 10 greatest hits one more
time. Even dishes that I might not normally order – such as
a moist and delicious pâté en croûte
– was consumed with pleasure, both the moist pâté and
the deliciously crunchy crust that encased it. I ate it all, including
the nice bit of aspic and the accompanying mixed salad tossed with
a welcome walnut vinaigrette. In short, the food is bright, copious
and surprising, without leaving the Alsatian boundaries.
On a giant table in the center sits a loaf bread that must be a
meter long, and all night long the youthful, friendly waiters slice
and refill baskets and guests devour each and every crusty slice.
I adored the warm tuberous vegetable salad --- including tiny potatoes
in their skins, penne-sized turnips, and Jerusalem artichokes – all
bathed in a wholesomely delicious broth, topped with slivers of
the thinnest, best foie gras and a showering of fresh green lamb’s
lettuce, or mache. But even for me – a veritable salt lover – the
dish was overly salty.
Other good starters include the salmon rillettes – you might
define it as cooked carpaccio – finely ground fresh and smoked
salmon shaped into three little scoops, like a sorbet. The portions
looked huge but somehow, everything was devoured. Even the suspicious
leeks in vinaigrette paired with the fresh, delicious pan-fried
mackerel, seemed to make sense after all.
The evening was cold and rainy and the huge poitrine de veau, or
veal breast braised in the giant Alsatian casserole with a bright
shower of sliced carrots made the evening quite a bit more welcoming.
Also cooked in an ochre Alsatian casserole were the braised fillets
of fresh dorade, set on a bed of fennel, another combination that
worked that night.
The dessert list includes some nice offerings, such as a good chocolate
tart (that resembles but does not come close to the version made
famous by Joël Robuchon), and the confit of apples paired with
vanilla and pistachio ice cream, a dished designed for sugar fiends.
We drank the house pinot blanc from the house of Kenzler and talked
about how underrated Alsatian wines can be, especially the whites
that come from a land of little sun, but great soil.
Prices are good, with a daily menu of 38 €, lunchtime daily
specials at 15 €, and a la carte offerings of entrees at 10 €,
fish and meat and 20 €, and desserts at 8 €.
Even though the restaurant is brand new, it already has a nice
neighborhood feel. We left wishing we lived down the block from
My Old Friend.
Mon Vieil Ami
69 rue Saint Louis en l’Ile
Paris 4
Telephone: 01 40 46 01 35
Fax: 01 40 46 01 36
All major credit cards. Closed
Monday, and Tuesday at lunch. A la carte, 30 to 38 €, including
service but not wine.
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